


Manta Be

by TrasBen



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Gen, Hints of CherryBerry (Undertale), Hints of SpicyHoney (Undertale), Mature Blue, Nurse Blue, Yachts, Yeahhhh, mermaid au, small red
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24835465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrasBen/pseuds/TrasBen
Summary: Mermaid AUBlue's vacation is about to be flipped upside down when he meets and befriends a small mermaid.Areallysmall mermaid.(1,000 Word Chapters)
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Sans & Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 245
Kudos: 157





	1. ray-t, what is that?

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my latest indulgence! a short work with 1,000 word chapters about a barely-there cherryberry scenario i lost my mind over!
> 
> also the title is supposed to be a pun on 'meant to be'. idk if that was obvious or not lolol.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue encounters a myste-ray

Sailing is slightly less fun than Blue anticipated.

His ambitious mind had imagined choppy seas, beautiful sunsets, and exhilarating encounters with strange fish of all sizes. So far, he’s only bore witness to calm blue that stretches in all directions. 

The sunsets and sunrises _are_ quite beautiful, but Blue is _bored._

And he only has a week before he has to return to his regular job back on land: Blue works as a nurse for a small human-monster hospital.

It’s fairly ideal work for him; Blue doesn't sleep much and loves helping people. But even ideal jobs can have their downsides. Nurses are surprisingly cliquish and Blue's always had trouble fitting in - he's either "too loud" or "too smiley" for most.

He gets paid fairly well though. His proficiency in healing magic makes him an asset and earns him enough to live comfortably. Especially since Blue shares a house with his younger brother - Stretch.

Stretch is an IT tech for a big company. He’s almost just as busy as Blue most days, but he works from home when he’s not needed at the office. It means that he gets to plan out just where he’ll leave his sock _this time_ to jape Blue when he gets home.

Nonetheless, despite how antagonist Stretch can be, he’s still Blue’s dear younger brother.

And… he's surprisingly thoughtful at times.

Like when he rented a small yacht for he and Blue to sail on for the week. It’s always been Blue’s dream to set sail - er, engine - on open water. He’d even gotten a boating license two months or so ago, which made the surprise quite timely!

The two brothers had packed some belongings, gone shopping for enough groceries to last them, and set up the little boat. It’s got one bedroom under the deck with a small kitchen that has a little table and couch.

Stretch offered to take the couch, leaving the bedroom for Blue. He’d feel bad for it if Stretch hadn’t admitted it’s because he needs easy access to the deck for late-night smoke breaks.

And it’s not as if the boat hasn’t been amazing! Blue enjoys waking up later in the day (although he’d never admit it) just to see the big blue deep when he steps outside. Eating on the deck, with the sun on his bones and the scent of salt all around is invigorating.

It’s just that Blue fears the week will pass quickly, and he’ll have nothing to remember the ocean bye except his memory of salt on his conjured tongue and a few photos on his phone.

… 

… It’s the third morning of their week-long vacation that Blue notices something slightly off.

He spends his time one the boat looking over the ocean, cooking, or reading. It’s a rare opportunity to catch up on some of the, er, _manga_ Blue’s good friend Alphys lent him. Blue’s not quite fond of gratuitous boobage but he might as well try and figure out what “sue-goi” and “moe” mean. Maybe then he’ll feel less left out when Alphys brings her fishy girlfriend, Undyne, along on their outings.

On one such occasion, Blue is looking over a graphic novel of the Mew-Mew variety and catches the tail end of something vibrant and red over the side of the boat out of the corner of his sight. Immediately, Blue sets down the book and sits up in his lawn chair.

… But there’s nothing. Only the blue blanket of the ocean.

He writes it off as the sea playing tricks on his eye lights.

… 

Except it happens again. This time, the boat is floating along with the waves, and Blue is slightly dozing off in his seat, the manga protecting his face as he drifts between wakefulness and sleep…

And Blue hears a _splat_ sound. 

It jolts him out of his half-sleep and his eye lights dart to the end of the deck, where the edge of the boat connects with the water. There’s no barrier there, likely for diving or fishing.

But there _is_ a giant puddle, like something had tried to jump onto the deck before sliding off…

It’s too suspicious for Blue to write off a second time, so he goes to his brother. 

Stretch is on the couch, on his phone. He lifts a brow bone when his brother enters the cabin.

“get tired of mew-mew’s adventures in the lollipop forest, nyeh?” Stretch drones. The lanky skeleton sets his phone down on the nearby table leisurely.

“QUITE A FEW HOURS AGO.” Blue replies dryly, following up with his question. “STRETCH…”

Said skeleton perks up at Blue’s tone. “wassup, bro?”

“HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING… STRANGE… AROUND THE BOAT?” Blue elaborates, “A REDDISH FISH, MAYBE?”

Stretch settles back in his seat and shrugs. “nah, fish are scared of the boat. you see something?” 

Blue rubs at his eye sockets and sighs, “I THOUGHT SO… BUT PERHAPS MY MAGNIFICENT EYES ARE PLAYING TRICKS ON ME…”

The comment makes Stretch frown. He sits up and gestures for Blue to take a seat by him. “no way, bro.” He assures Blue, “you’re the coolest monster around. if you think you saw something, i believe you.”

Blue rolls his eye lights, knowing that Stretch is only indulging his ego.

“IT’S NOTHING, BROTHER. EVEN ONE AS TERRIFIC AS I CAN MAKE MISTAKES.” Blue thinks that will be the end of it, that he can go back to Alphys' odd, backwards-reading books in peace, when there’s a _very_ familiar splat coming from the deck.

It’s audible inside the cabin, due to Blue leaving the door open…

When initial shock passes, Blue and Stretch exchange curious looks. From the deck comes the sound of wet flopping and the dull screech of furniture being pushed.

By the time Blue and Stretch scramble out, there's nothing but a disorganized deck and a trail of sea water to indicate that anything had been there at all.

“well, this seems a little _fishy_ to _me,_ nyeh.”

“BY THE _STARS_ , BROTHER.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew,,, had to cut this chapter down by like a 100 words to make it fit :,) good bye verb modifiers.
> 
> this is going to be super short, just wanted more tiny mermaids in my life and decided to write them. uf paps WILL show up much later, but i have BIG plans in store for him, hehe.
> 
> leave a comment if you enjoyed or wanna chat! stay safe and healthy!


	2. part of your wooooorrrllllldddd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue sets a trap

The incident from yesterday keeps Blue up nearly all night. 

It distracts him as he makes breakfast for him and his brother, and it’s on his mind as he once again pulls out a manga and stares at a panel for about ten minutes before realizing the pictures are fuzzy.

“STRETCH?” He calls, still squinting and bringing the book closer to his face.

“‘sup?” Blue turns to see that Stretch is leaning against the door into the cabin, casually looking down at his phone. Typical.

“HAVE YOU SEEN MY GLASSES?”

They’re large and circular, set in shiny silver frames. Alphys calls them his ‘owl eyes’. But Blue doesn’t need to wear his glasses often - only when he’s doing heavy reading. Sometimes if he’s pulling a late shift at the hospital and he’s getting tired, he’ll get them out.

“nyeh heh, you sound like dad.” Stretch snickers.

Blue rolls his eye lights because it’s true and he hates it. Their dad is kind to a fault, but very absent minded and tends to lose things often.

Blue, on the other hand, prides himself on his organization skills. Apparently they’re not in affect this morning.

“BE SERIOUS, PLEASE.” Blue sighs. “I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO COUGH UP A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR SOME NEW ONES.”

“aww, okay, bro. where’d ya last see them?” Stretch slips his phone into the pocket of his hoodie and stands up as straight as he can while still looking like a professional slacker.

“... THAT’S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.” Blue’s breath hitches as he looks around the deck. “I WAS WEARING THEM YESTERDAY… THEN I… ER… DECIDED TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK FROM READING…” He flushes as he remembers taking a nap, of all things!

“SO I PUT THEM DOWN ON THE ICE BOX…” Both Blue and Stretch’s gaze turns towards the little cooler a few feet away from Blue’s lawn chair. It’s the only other piece of furniture that isn’t bolted down to the deck.

It’d been closer to him yesterday, so Blue could grab a drink if he needed one… but it’d been knocked over yesterday in the mysterious “flop” incident…

“... that sucks, bro.” Stretch says after a while.

It  _ does _ . They’d probably fallen into the ocean, never to be seen again…

… Unless… 

“WE HAVE A THIEF!” It makes sense! The strange fish Blue had seen yesterday must have done something! 

Stretch raises a skeptical brow and hums, “i think you might be in denial. it’s the first stage of grief.”

“NONSENSE! THERE’S NO TIME FOR GRIEF WHEN A CRIMINAL IS AFOOT!” Blue replies. He stands, setting the book in the seat of his chair. “OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A FLOPPY PILFERER ON OUR HANDS!”

“... sorry to say, bro…” Stretch tells Blue slowly, “... but either a bird snatched them or a fish smacked them into the sea.”

Blue puts a finger up to his chin and thinks. He ignores Stretch’s comment. “... WE SHOULD SET A TRAP TO CATCH THE PERP IN ACTION.”

It’s at this point Stretch has a choice - try and change his older brother’s mind, which is nay impossible - or go along with the scheme. He decides to bite the bullet, and with a sigh, says goodbye to a day of video games. 

“yeah. okay.”

“THEN IT’S SETTLED!” Blue smacks a fist into his hand and bulldozes past Stretch into the cabin. “FIRST WE MUST PLANT A LURE…”

Blue stands in the main area of the cabin and looks around. “NOW… TO FIND SOMETHING SUITABLE...”

“something shiny?” Stretch suggests, still standing in the doorway.

“OF COURSE…” Blue stage-mumbles. “IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE LUSTROUS GLINT OF MY GLASSES THAT DREW THE THIEF TO US…”

He promptly pulls open the drawer that holds the silverware and grabs up a spoon. “HERE! PERFECT!”

Blue again breezes past Stretch to place the spoon on the ice box, and drags it into the middle of the boat. Stretch watches and occasionally throws out encouraging words.

When the trap is perfectly set, Blue thinks he sees something bright red gliding just under the surface of the water, but like yesterday, finds nothing when he looks closer.

“i guess we wait now, huh?” Stretch inputs rather non-enthusiastically.

“I PREFER THE TERM ‘STAKE OUT’!” Blue responds. He drags Stretch inside the cabin and shuts the door halfway, so they can watch.

… Ten minutes pass… then another…

Before they know it, over half an hour has passed with no unusual sighting. Blue gives a frustrated sigh. His younger brother pats his shoulder consolingly.

“guess the, uh, ‘thief’ isn’t coming back?”

“... MAYBE…”

But it’s as Blue says this that the distinct sound of flopping comes from the deck, and the loud knocking of the icebox. Blue practically throws the door open…

… Only to be greeted with a wet deck and a missing spoon.

Blue gapes.

Stretch whistles. “what'dya know? your plan went  _ swimmingly _ , bro."

“... WE HAVE TO SET ANOTHER TRAP.”

...

And thus begins a cycle of Blue slowly losing more and more silverware as the floppy thief  _ somehow  _ evades his sight every single time.

Stretch stops Blue before he can lose all of the silverware.

But Blue has one last trick up his proverbial sleeve. He rummages through his suitcase for a few minutes before pulling out something small and shiny.

His class ring.

“you still have that thing?” Stretch asks when Blue marches back out onto the deck with it.

“OF COURSE! YOU DON’T?”

“i think i pawned it for booze money.”

Blue hums and puts the ring down on the icebox. “OH WELL… COULD YOU GO INSIDE, STRETCH?”

The sun is setting, but Blue still sits in his lawn chair, forgetting the door technique, and puts the manga over his face.

He fakes a loud yawn. “WOWIE! I SURE AM TIRED! I THINK I WILL SLEEP NOW, LEAVING MY SHINY RING UNATTENDED…”

Blue vaguely hears Stretch choke on a laugh inside.

For a few minutes, his SOUL sinks, thinking it won’t work…

_ Until there’s a gentle wet slap onto the deck. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe... sneaky lil fishy...
> 
> i have to say,,,, i'm really glad everybody thinks tiny mermaids are cute as much as i do!
> 
> this chapter was a bit of a tease, but we will in fact be meeting Red for sure next chapter....
> 
> and yes. red is arial from the little mermaid. he see a shiny he must have.
> 
> [the song i listened to on repeat while writing this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA8RxRkNveM)


	3. fangs for your cooperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tiny fish steals many things, two skeleton's hearts included

Blue stiffens so he won’t tip the little thief off to his jape. But it’s _hard_ to remain in place, with the manga covering his sight, as he listens to the soft flopping come closer.

When his patience is gone, Blue tosses the manga off of his face just in time to see a small monster - hardly two feet long - reaching for the bait.

The little one startles, turning to Blue with empty sockets. It’s all either can do to stare at each other.

The thief is - the thief is not only _tiny -_ but they’re half _fish._ Honestly, Blue should have been expecting it since they’re on a _boat_ fairly far off of the coast of Sydney, but he’s properly flummoxed.

Their top half is skeletal, and about a foot long. They have a round skull with large sockets and _sharp teeth_. The bottom _fishy_ half is probably two feet across horizontally and made of ecto-flesh that spans down from the bottom of their stocky rib cage. A bag is slung across their body, dragging on the deck.

Blue can’t stop looking at the red glow of their skin. They seem to be half ray of some type: which Blue sure hopes isn't _sting ray_ as he eyes the small whip-like tail that drags behind their pectoral fins.

The mer-skeleton looks away first, yanking their arm away from where it had been reaching, and attempts to scramble backwards as fast as possible. It takes Blue a couple seconds to regain proper thought, but when he does, he jumps out of his seat to catch the little one.

Blue would still like his belongings back, after all… !

Luck seems to be on his side for the first time today, because the little canvas bag the fish has catches and spills an entire drawer's worth of utensils onto the deck in the hasty retreat. 

Blue falters as the ray panics and tries to scoop up all of their treasures as quickly as possible, taking short glances up at Blue’s figure as they flail.

“STRETCH?” Blue calls, at a complete loss of what to do.

The door opens and his younger brother peaks out, cigarette falling from his teeth as he takes in the tiny sea-magpie that’s still trying to shove an entire silverware set back into their bag.

Blue can’t even find the time to scold Stretch for smoking indoors, because the little fish makes a distressed squeaking noise when a second skeleton stumbles onto the deck.

They seem to decide that the utensils aren’t worth it, and start flopping their fins backwards urgently.

“WAIT!” The little fish does the exact opposite of what Blue asks and scrambles further. With little thought, Blue grabs up the ring he’d set out as bait and waves it enticingly in front of him.

Almost comically, the ray stops struggling and stares at the ring. Little ruby red eye lights blink on in their sockets and grow to the size of coins. “HERE?” Blue asks gently, still waving it, “DO YOU WANT IT?”

The thief risks a quick glance at Stretch, who’s observing quietly, and Blue, who’s lowering himself to a kneel on the deck.

Hesitantly, they nod once and make a grabby motion.

Blue shakes his head slowly, “TRADE? YES? YOU HAVE MY THINGS.”

The mer-skeleton pokes out a red glowing tongue in distaste.

“mine.” They squeak.

Blue points at the silverware strung out across the deck. “MINE.”

The fish grabs a stray spoon and holds it close to their chest, the utensil laughably large compared to their rib cage. “mine.” They squeak again, closer to growling.

Seeing as it’s his only bargaining chip, Blue gestures to the ring again with an expectant look.

_Red,_ or what Blue has now decided to deem the ray, bares their sharp teeth. Alright. Seems they have their own means of bargaining.

But Blue only wiggles the ring again and says once more, “TRADE?”

Red stares at Blue for a few more tense moments, still baring their teeth, _which are starting to look sharper by the second, and maybe Blue should just cut his losses -_

Until they dump out the contents of their bag onto the deck, separating the utensils from other shiny odds and ends, and slides them across the deck to Blue like poker chips.

Blue lets out a sigh of relief and fully sits down, criss-cross-apple-sauce. They pile their stuff back into their bag while Blue moves the utensils behind him and puts the ring down in front of the small ray.

When Red reaches for the ring, Blue holds out a hand to stop them. 

Red’s brows furrow angrily and they squeak-growl, “ _trade.”_ menacingly.

“I THINK YOU’RE FORGETTING SOMETHING.” Blue tells Red with a raised brow. “GLASSES?”

... It seems Red has no idea what Blue’s talking about. With a sigh, Blue makes his hands into circles and puts them over his sockets. It’s silly, but appears to get the idea across.

Red reaches into his bag and grabs Blue’s round glasses, blessedly unharmed.

Blue wants to grab them, but Red’s teeth are still sharp, and the fish doesn’t seem to be very keen on giving up their particularly shiny treasure. Red makes a face that could be a pout as they look over the treasure.

They mimic Blue and put the lenses over their own sockets, blinking curiously.

Blue can hear Stretch chuckle behind him, and he has to admit that it’s fairly funny… but Blue needs his glasses.

He makes a _hand it over_ motion. Red pouts again, letting out a mournful squeak, and clambers over.

Blue has to keep himself from flinching back as the fish elbow-crawls into his lap. They’re wet and slimy on their fish half, but they don’t seem to care that they’ve just gotten Blue dirty as they turn the glasses in their grip and hold the lenses over Blue’s sockets.

For the first time, Blue can clearly see the little pouty mermaid in his face.

_STARS THAT’S CUTE._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phewwwwww!! didn't realize this part was going to be /that/ long.... for this purpose... i've added another chapter to the work...
> 
> i loved all of you guys' comments about red being a magpie lolol. he's thief.
> 
> aaaaaannnnnnddddddd in case my hints havent been enough,,, red is half manta ray. not a sting-baby.
> 
> in particular, mobula diabolis/diabolus. they live near australia and grow to be max 2 feet across. blue's about 5 foot flat, and red is about 1"10 vertically, not including tail, and a smidgen wider across,, a lil more than the technical 'max'.
> 
> hes a tiny boy,,
> 
> tiny thief boy.
> 
> [here's the song i listened to on repeat while writing this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2IUGvIe7dg)


	4. fish are friends not food. but you can GIVE your fish friends food.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue makes friends with a mermaid <3

Blue gently takes his glasses from the little mer-skeleton and adjusts them so they sit proper with the help of magic.

With his vision clear, and a small mermaid on his lap, Blue nearly has to stop himself from squealing! He turns to Stretch, who’s still observing, with wide sockets while biting his bottom ‘lip’. He’s sure his eye lights are stars and it’s all he can do to not cry from the cuteness.

_THERE'S A TINY MERMAID!! IN MY LAP!!_

“nyeh heh heh… you caught the thief, bro. that’s _fin_ -tastic.”

“DON’T START WITH THE PUNS IN FRONT OF THE MERMAID!!” Blue scolds.

Red distracts Blue by patting his shoulder, reminding Blue of their trade. Blue hands the ring over and watches as the tiny fish inspects the ring carefully, then pokes their small tongue out to taste the blue topaz gem.

_Silly fish._

“mine.”

“... YES.” Blue replies, “ALL YOURS.”

The ray stashes the jewelry in their bag and slips off of Blue’s lap onto the deck. Blue notes that he’s strangely disappointed, but isn’t about to drag them back onto his lap just because he thinks they’re cute.

For awhile, the three study each other again. He guesses that seeing two giant skeletons with legs must be just as surprising for the ray as it is for the two land-skeletons to see a tiny mermaid.

“... BLUE.” Blue eventually says as he points to himself. He points to Stretch next, “STRETCH.”

Blue points to Red. “RED.”

Red’s brow bones shoot up. “red? red?” They squeak. The fish points to their fishy half, which is, in fact, bright red. “red?”

“YES, YOU’RE RED.”

“boy, boy?” Red points to Blue and Stretch. Blue’s pleasantly surprised by Red’s language skills.

“RIGHT AGAIN! GOOD JOB!” He praises, clapping a little for the proud little fish.

Red grins and points to themself, “boy!”

“VERY GOOD!!” Perhaps Blue finds it just a _little_ too cute how much his praise seems to affect Red… but he’s not about to deprive the ray of the encouragement he deserves!

_“....boy,_ has this been fun, but....” Stretch cuts in. Blue gives him a nasty look. Per usual, Stretch ignores it and continues, “i think it’s time for dinner. i’m starving.”

“I SUPPOSE WE _DID_ SKIP LUNCH TO… ER…” Blue glances at Red nervously, “... CATCH OUR LITTLE FRIEND HERE. I’M TOO TIRED TO COOK RIGHT NOW, THOUGH…”

“hmm? food? food?” Red flops his pectoral fins happily and stares at Blue.

“nyeh, red’s hungry too. how’s about i heat us up some soup to eat on the deck? our utensils are out of commission.” Stretch nods to the pile of spoons and forks that are sitting in a puddle of saltwater behind Blue.

Blue chuckles sheepishly. “THAT SOUNDS NICE. I’LL KEEP RED COMPANY ON THE DECK.”

He doesn’t notice Stretch reach into his hoodie for another cigarette as he enters the cabin. But Red does.

The little fish makes a small noise of disgust. Those do _not taste nice._ Unfortunately Red has a little too much experience with them since he’s a little too curious for his own good and some land monsters don’t mind leaving their trash in the ocean.

“WHAT’S WRONG, RED?” Blue asks, seeing the smaller’s face scrunch up.

“... food?” Red promptly forgets his previous line of thought and looks up at Blue again with those big sockets.

“YOU HAVE TO BE PATIENT! IN A BIT!” Blue chides gently. He reaches over without thinking, then stops himself.

…. He can’t just pet Red out of nowhere…! The little guy is capable of language and is sentient… that'd be weird...

But… that doesn’t mean Blue can’t _ask_ first…

“RED?” Blue’s mouth dries as the little fish blinks up at him innocently. It should be illegal for anything to be this cute. “CAN I… PET YOU?”

“pet? pet?” Red squeaks curiously.

“YES… YOU KNOW… LIKE….” Blue decides to demonstrate on himself, patting his own head. “LIKE THIS, YES?”

Red studies Blue’s motion, then pats Blue’s knee similarly. “pet?” he asks again.

“YES. CAN I PET YOU?”

Red answers without words, instead grabbing Blue’s hand to put it on his head.

Blue pats Red on the head gently, and the small skeleton seems to really enjoy it! Pretty soon, Blue switches from light patting to gentle strokes on the top of Red’s tiny skull, which then turns into light scritches.

Eventually, Blue registers that the ray is _purring_. It’s really cute. He can hardly contain himself! Oh, how he wishes he could bring Red home with him! Alas, he doesn’t have a space that would be ethical to keep the little fish…

… Nor would he want to take Red away from _his_ home…

After awhile, Red crawls back into Blue’s lap again so he can nuzzle his skull against Blue’s rib cage. 

Blue coos and pets Red’s fishy half in soft strokes. Slimy, yet smooth.

Stretch comes out with the soup a few minutes later, in two bowls and one small cup. The small cup is handed to Red, who takes tiny yet enthusiastic sips.

“mmmmmmmmmm~” He hums in delight.

Red sits in Blue’s lap while he eats. It makes lifting his own bowl to his mouth a little difficult, but Blue manages. Stretch takes a seat not too far away, and when they’re finished with their food, Blue shows Stretch the wonder that is petting small mer-skeletons.

Red enjoys the attention very much.

After some petting, Blue gets the genius idea of playing fetch with Red. He grabs up a fork, and tosses it into the ocean when he has Red’s attention. The ray flops into the ocean, catches it, and brings it back happily,

They play for a long time, and Blue lets Red keep the fork as a reward for being so fast.

But all good things come to and end, and Blue must eventually say goodbye to his new friend. He and Stretch wave Red off when it gets too dark.

“BYE…” Blue calls wistfully at the ocean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> red is so sweet and blue thinks he's adorable ;-;
> 
> for everyone that's wanted to pet red, the wish has been granted. the boy loves pets and land-food.
> 
> annndd... what's this...? saying goodbye to red even tho there's two chapters left?? hm. wonder what will happen to our boy and friend?  
> ___  
> ALSO!! quick psa: don't pet fish. they have a layer of mucus that protects them from bacteria and stuff!! blue can pet red because red's a magical mermaid that is exempt from bacteria. most infection for monsters, as i head cannon, comes from magical infections which usually stem from the soul.


	5. this bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :(

There’s a special type of confusion that comes from being woken up in the middle of the night. It’s the type of confusion that Blue became very acquainted with when Stretch bursts into his room at what must be midnight.

Blue is a traitorously light sleeper, so he wakes almost immediately, disoriented and vaguely betrayed by his lazy younger brother interrupting his own sleep - 

For a while, the confusion makes everything fuzzy. Or maybe it’s the lack of glasses. 

There’s a weird disconnect in his senses, rendering Stretch’s words almost incomprehensible until Blue manages to grasp at his glasses and slip them onto his skull. He blinks a few times as his vision clears and is greeted by his brother’s face, tight with fear and concern.

“WHAT’S WRONG?” For all of Stretch’s rambling earlier, he’s almost deadly quiet as he pants for a few seconds.

Then, he reaches up to rub at his face with a shuddering breath. “u-um, red, he’s… he’s on the deck, i don’t know, i don’t know what to do… y... you gotta help him” Stretch fidgets at the door while Blue throws his blankets off and stumbles past him.

“RED? WHAT… WHAT HAPPENED?” It’s all Blue can do to try and make himself as aware as possible with sleep still pulling at his sockets and dragging his feet. Stretch follows almost meekly behind him, ushering Blue onto the deck where there’s a tiny little body heaving in the moonlight.

“there’s a bite, um,” Stretch hurries to explain, he kneels down beside Red, who’s laying in a large puddle of his namesake. It seems to be steadily leaking from large puncture marks in his left pectoral. “i, um, came out for a smoke, a-and i heard him, he’s hurt real bad.”

Blue kneels down, opposite of Stretch.

It _does_ look bad. And it _does_ look like something had tried to take a bite out of him. For a frantic moment, all Blue can do is flutter his hands about, not sure where to start. Red’s making little squeaking noises, much weaker than only a few hours ago. Sounding _frightened._

Then, all at once, his brain seems to flip _on._

“FIRST AID KIT.” Blue mutters. He looks up to Stretch, and repeats, louder, “THERE’S A FIRST AID KIT UNDER THE SINK IN THE KITCHEN.”

Stretch stares at his older brother for only a second before he’s nodding his skull and staggering to his feet. “y-yeah…” 

And then he’s off.

Blue sits by Red and focuses his full attention to the injured little fish before him. How lucky that Stretch had been able to help Red, or else the little guy could have been nothing more than a snack for some predator and they would have been none the wiser.

As gently as he can, Blue flips Red onto his back and strokes at his skull calmingly. There’s not a whole lot he can do without supplies, but he shucks off his shirt and starts trying to soak up the leaking magic to maybe stop the flow.

The night air is cold but Blue can hardly feel it. Red trembles and looks up at Blue with those tiny little red eye lights, jaw looking so tense Blue wouldn’t be surprised if his teeth started to crack. 

His little arms go to hold the arm Blue is using to staunch the flow of magic. They’re shaking almost as much as he is.

Blue feels numb as Stretch sets the kit beside him. It’s made for humans, but Blue is flexible. He’s got a good handle on healing magic. He just needs to flush Red’s wound with fresh magic so his body will stop trying to do it by itself. Healing a wound this big is too taxing for any monster’s body, especially one as small as Red’s. 

After that, Blue can try to seal the wound as best he can and wrap it up.

Blue hesitantly removes his make-shift towel and calls green magic to his hands. It glows ominously in the dark of the mid-ocean night. He lightly brushes Red’s fin and the mer-skeleton whines low and mournful.

It’s tense as he flushes the wound and Red’s tail starts to glow brighter. He grabs a few antiseptic wipes and cleans up Red’s body properly. Usually magic fights off bacteria, but Red’s SOUL is weak right now and it might rot the congealing magic.

With healing magic that almost burns, Blue seals the wounds. It’s a precarious job for one monster to do alone, so the process will be slow. He wishes there was another nurse or doctor here to help, but he’s alone besides his still frozen brother.

Red’s little whines have turned into silent cries, his rib cage contorting painfully with each silent sob.

When Blue’s tapped out, he tries to steady his hands and wraps Red’s fin as well as he can. But the fish is still in no shape to go back into the water, let alone with the possibility of some predator still around, lurking.

He gathers Red into his arms. The little fish turns towards Blue’s rib cage and holds on with a death-grip. His sockets shut tightly, but the pain has to be too much for him to sleep properly. Blue cradles Red and looks to his brother once again.

“I NEED A TOWEL AND A BUCKET OF WATER.” Blue tells Stretch. His younger brother startles out of the trance he’d been in while watching Blue work and hobbles inside once more. This time, Blue follows him, still holding Red.

He brings Red to his room and sets him down on the bed. The sheets soak through, but Blue doesn’t mind. He gets the towel and bucket from Stretch and brings it to his room, where he wets the towel completely and wraps it around Red to keep him hydrated. Seconds later, Stretch joins, sitting by the door.

Blue lays down next to the trembling mer-skeleton and waits until morning, watchful, protective. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jfka;k 
> 
> this took so long to write!! couldn't figure out how to start the chapter and i was stumped for like a good week, then had to summon the will to write lmao.
> 
> last chapter coming up -> and don't worry!! fluffy ending for all!!
> 
> we'll finally get to meet edge lol. don't worry, he's a very Good Boy. aaaaaalllsoooooo i really like writing stories with short chapter lengths! i'm actually like 7 or so chapters into another little story, so look forward to something after i finish this lol!


	6. rocking the boat... literally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> red's 'big' brother isn't so happy about him going missing.

The night’s longer than just about any other Blue’s experienced - including his regular twelve hour shifts at the hospital. He’s never had to sit by a patient for hours, clothes soaked, re-wetting a towel so they won’t dry out in his bed.

His headache sets in sometime early in the morning. By the time the sun is rising, Blue can’t tell if he’s falling into microsleeps or just zoning out. It might be both.

Red sleeps fitfully, trembling and whining every so often. When he shifts too much, Blue strokes his skull and tries to get him to settle, lest he reopen his fragile wound. Stretch had fallen asleep hours ago by the door, still slumped against the wall.

There’s no clock for blue to watch in the room, as his phone is in the main cabin, he has no way to accurately tell time. He can only observe the one tiny window in his room and watch as the darkness turns to a tentative lighter blue.

With how out of it he is, it’s no surprise Blue doesn’t notice the gentle rocking of the boat turning more purposeful over the course of half an hour or so. But he definitely notices when there’s a loud _THUNK_ against the side of the boat as the sound and sudden jolt shock him like a slap to the face.

Stretch jumps into the waking world, twisting his skull this way and that, trying to find the cause of the impact. Just as he and Blue start to calm, it happens again.

“...” Blue and his brother share an equally confused stare, silent. 

The thunk happens again and the boat starts to rock dangerously at the same time, which finally spurns Stretch into standing up.

“what the hell…?” He mutters.

“PERHAPS WE’VE HIT A ROCK?” Blue replies, unsure. They haven’t had this problem in the near week they’ve been on the boat. He sits up and drags Red with him. The little mer-skeleton squeaks and huddles close to the blue toned skeleton. 

Scooping the little guy up like a baby, Blue follows Stretch as he enters the main cabin. Nothing is amiss, but Stretch looks a little green in the skull when the rocking continues. Blue has to hold onto the table to keep from toppling over. Another few thunks sound in quick succession.

Then, there’s a loud _crash_ ing sound that comes from the outside deck. It sounds like all the funiture’s been knocked over.

“..... ugh….” Seeing as Stretch has to double over and clutch at the stomach he doesn’t have to keep from spilling last night’s soup, Blue cautiously traverses the cabin and exits onto the deck, still holding Red to his side.

Outside, there’s nothing but a clear sky and calm waters… yet the boat still rocks tumultuously, and the furniture is indeed scattered around the deck.

Suddenly, a great splash disrupts the water, and Blue catches sight of a _large_ expanse of deep red ecto-flesh. 

“OH DEAR…” Blue mutters.

Red, who’d woken up a few moments ago, squeaks when he sees it, and starts to pat at Blue’s arms in a frenzy of movement. He squirms and wiggles until Blue lets him go, then crawls to the edge of the deck. Before he can slip into the water, A great wave splashes onto the deck, soaking everything… Blue included.

Good thing he’d closed the door behind him. And at least his clothes had already been soaked through…

Red, however, had been pushed back by the wave, and scrambles to regain his purchase. 

“ARE YOU OKAY?” Blue frets, stumbling closer. It’d be a shame if he hurt himself all over again...

“okay!” Red squeaks through sputters, “okay!” 

Blue watches, disheartened, as Red attempts to get to the edge of the deck, only to be stopped by another, smaller wave. He’s too tiny to resist them…

The door behind Blue clicks open just in time for a _loud_ groan to rip through the air. It sounds like the scariest white-noise whale sound Blue has ever heard, and he can hear Stretch gasp behind him.

Red lets out a similar call, although it’s much less intimidating. More akin to the sound of a dolphin call pitched downwards.

And just like that, the rocking stops. To Blue, it feels as though they’ve just been caught in the eye of the hurricane...

Blue breathes out a tense sigh while Stretch makes his way over to the edge of the deck to peer below. Before Blue can mention that it’s probably not a good idea considering what he’d seen earlier, the water in front of the deck burts upwards in a large splash, and Red lets out another strange call.

Stretch falls onto his coccyx as a _gigantic_ figure emerges from below.

They look like another skeleton - albeit their top half is probably longer than Blue’s entire body.

Red squeaks happily and elbow-crawls over. When the large skeleton catches sight of the tiny mer-skeleton, another demonic whale sound is let loose. Red replies with a dolphin sound and…

Blue’s eye sockets widen as he realizes that they’re _communicating._

Stretch stands back up and rubs at his tailbone while Blue finds himself drifting closer, close enough that the large skeleton’s attention is diverted to him. Faintly, he can feel Stretch trying to drag him back, but he resists it.

“HELLO?”

The skeleton eyes him for a moment before… “HELLO. THANK YOU.”

...

“not that we don’t appriciate it, but, uh, what the fuck?” Stretch pipes up.

Red pats the large skeleton on the arm and proudly squeaks, “brother!”

That huge mer-skeleton… is Red’s _brother?!_ Blue hadn’t even thought sea monster hybrids could get that big… then again, his only point of reference was Red…

“BROTHER…?” Blue echoes.

“YES. RED IS MY OLDER BROTHER.” The intimidating monster responds.

Red is the _older_ brother?!

“I AM… SORRY FOR DISRUPTING YOUR BOAT. I HAD THOUGHT YOU CAPTURED RED. BUT HE TELLS ME… YOU SAVED HIM?”

Lightheaded, all Blue can only nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to get this fic done in this chapter... i really did......... but i will have to wait one more for the story to be finished ;-;....
> 
> but!! we finally meet edge!! let's see what he has to say next chapter, when things are DEFINITELY all wrapped up!


	7. sea pancake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some language difficulties lead to a... misunderstanding

The feeling of ‘about to pass out’ doesn’t lessen as Red’s brother explains.

Apparently he had… gotten worried when Red didn’t come back after dark. He’d tracked his recent location and smelled his older brother’s spilled magic in the general vicinity. The scent trail led to the boat… and he’d feared the worst.

Blue’s only glad they hadn’t let Red go for fear of further injury. If Red hadn’t been here to mediate...this morning could have taken a very… different turn. 

“OH WELL… I’M GLAD TO HAVE BEEN OF ASSISTANCE!” Blue tells the two, “I’D FEEL AWFUL IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO RED…”

The tiny skeleton shoots Blue a crooked grin with his sharp little fangs and pats him on the knee, the highest he can reach.

“ANYWAYS, I DON’T THINK WE’VE BEEN PROPERLY INTRODUCED!”

The giant monster tilts his skull. For the first time in a while, Red spoke up. From what Blue could tell, both are fully capable of speaking with him and his brother, but Red… seems to not be as proficient as his brother.

He points to himself, “red.” Then, to Blue and then Stretch. “blue. stretch.”

“ERM.” Stretch chuckles while Blue tries to explain, “YES, THANK YOU. BUT... WHAT’S…” a glance to the much larger monster “HIS NAME?”

“oh!” Red pats his brother’s arm again and smiles widely, “edge!” He pauses, then looks to Edge. “yes?”

“THAT IS CORRECT.” Edge confirms. “FORGIVE MY OLDER BROTHER, HE IS NOT AS VERSED AS I AM IN LAND SPEECH.”

There it is again. _Older brother._

“HOW OLD ARE YOU?” Blue blurts because he has almost no impulse control and his head still hurts from a night without sleep - maybe the size difference has an easy explanation that he’s not seeing, because Blue had assumed…

“aw, bro, don’tcha know that’s a pretty rude question?” Stretch laughs. The casual act is just a mask. Stretch is leaned up against the side of the deck, looking lazy. But his knuckles are flushed with magic from the strength of his grip. This is freaking him out too.

“AH, WELL… IT'S JUST SURPRISING AND ALL. I THOUGHT THAT RED WAS… A Baby…?” Blue’s voice gets quiet as he admits the last part. Internally, he’s sweating. Had Blue treated a grown adult like a baby puppy…? Giving him pets and playing fetch and little gifts…

Oh stars…

Edge’s teeth pull into an amused smirk. “MY BROTHER IS AN ADULT, AS AM I.”

Blue looks down in mortification to see Red’s small face upturned at him with confusion. 

“bay-bee?” Red parrots. Oh, Red must not know that word... Blue feels nothing but shame as he tries to think of a way to explain it.

“LIKE…?” He makes a rocking motion against his chest, like he’s holding an infant in his arms. 

Blue can hear Stretch choking on his laughter, which only makes Blue’s skull burn brighter. _What a supportive brother I have,_ he thinks dryly.

Red remains uncomprehending, which prompts Edge to let lose another one of those earth-shaking whale calls, catching his brother’s attention. It feels like it’s rattling Blues eye lights in his skull, from this close. Red’s face quickly drops to an offended scowl as he looks back at Blue.

“no!!” He shakes his skull vehemently, “not baby!”

“... SORRY!” Blue cries, “IT’S JUST THAT YOU’RE SO… Small…”

He’s glad that their brothers can at least find humor in this, the two of them chuckling not-so discreetly while Red’s sockets fill with betrayal at the word ‘small’.

“SORRY, SORRY!!” Blue exclaims.

“jeez, you made the sea pancake angry.” Stretch snickers, finally calming down.

“SEA PANCAKE?” Blue asks.

“y’know, he’s flat and kinda looks like a weirdly shaped pancake.” Stretch explains amicably, miming Red’s ‘pancake-like’ physique with his hands. “sea pancake.”

“WHAT IS A… PANCAKE?” Edge inquires. Stretch jumps, and noticeably pales when he sees the large manta again. He must’ve forgotten the other was there… Blue’s brother seems much more on edge than a minute before as he makes eye contact with the large skeleton.

Edge’s face is serious, the prominent, jagged scarring on his left socket standing out due to the expression.

“u...um… it’s a, it’s a type of food. land food.” Stretch stutters quickly.

Edge’s brow ridges furrow, his expression growing angry. “FOOD? YOU WANT TO EAT MY BROTHER?” He growls.

“NO NO NO!” Blue replies, “NOT AT ALL - Oh, That Is A Very Sharp Bone…”

And it _is._ Edge has got quite a large weapon in his hands all the sudden.

It’s at this point that Red starts squeaking again, frantically. For the second time in the span of an hour, he’s saved Blue and his brother from his own.

They converse in a small series of groans and squeaks until Red pats Blue on the knee, “ pet, see?”

Following along, Blue pats the top of Red's skull as gently as he can. “see?” Red says again, “nice.”

“YES.” Blue gulps, “VERY NICE.”

Edge turns his stern gaze to Stretch, “AND YOU?” The sharpened bone is still in his hands, prompting a quick response.

“i’m nice too!” Stretch swears. “cross my heart and hope to die - well, i would if i weren’t a skeleton, nyeh heh heh…”

Edge narrows his sockets at Stretch, scrutinizing him _and_ his joke.

“PROVE IT.” He says finally. The bone disappears, “ ADMINISTER ONTO ME ONE OF THESE… PETS.”

Nervously, Stretch chuckles. “are you _sea-_ rious right now…?”

“QUITE.”

With small steps, Stretch edges closer until he’s in range to touch Edge, then hesitantly reaches for the top of his skull. When Edge doesn’t bite him or otherwise lash out, Stretch starts the petting.

Edge hums. “...ACCEPTABLE.”

Red tugs at Blue’s pant leg and squeaks in response to Blue stopping his own pets. Blue must’ve gotten distracted watching his brother pat the skull of a dangerous looking monster… He continues the motion and Red starts purring.

What a way to spend the last day of his vacation… Blue should come out here again next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finished!!! oh my goodness!!! finally!!!
> 
> thanks for everyone reading along and leaving comments, this was a really fun thing to write and i love mermaids so much...
> 
> i’m still replying to some comments, but i love to see what you guys have to say!!!
> 
> also there’s supposed to be a hurricane blowing thru my area on thursday... wild

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoy!! tiny mermaids are one of my all time favs,,,,
> 
> thanks for reading! leave a comment if you'd like or if you wanna chat!! stay safe and healthy out there!!
> 
> here's my [tumbly](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com) feel free to drop by and ask questions about any of the boys from my fics!


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